


Hunt: Great Jagras

by PastelRaccoon



Series: To Protect Her Treasure In the New World [3]
Category: Monster Hunter (Video Games)
Genre: Animal/Monster Death, Blood, F/F, Gen, No Carts, monster fight, realistic consequences
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2020-12-16 19:47:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21041774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PastelRaccoon/pseuds/PastelRaccoon
Summary: Kaguya finally takes on her first Monster all on her own: A Great Jagras. Hopefully all of her training that Azusa put her through finally pays off.





	Hunt: Great Jagras

“A-Are you sure I can do this, Azusa?” Kaguya whispered harshly between them as they crouched low in the tall bush. Her hands were gripping her sword and shield tight enough that her joints ached and knuckles were a ghostly white. Azusa’s Palico, Momo, sat next to her on her right and the Hunter on her left. The cat-like creature was also decked out in Odogaron armor, but a Rathalos sword was strapped to its back and her white fur was barely able to be seen beneath it. A strange looking wooden shield was attached to her fuzzy arm as well. Her Hunter’s hand dropped heavily onto her shoulder. She could see her dark gray eyes were crinkled at the edges from the concealed grin beneath her Odogaron mask.

“I’m sure.” Azusa’s voice was low and muffled behind the piece of armor that covered her mouth. “You did nothing but train once the doctor told you that you were better. Plus, you had me as a teacher.”

Her tone had taken on a sarcastic lilt before a laugh shook her shoulders. “And besides, I’ll be waiting in the wings if things start to go south. It’s just a Great Jagras. This thing’s a pushover.”

Once she said that, her eyes turned to address the large reptile that they were following for some time. Scoutflies created a glowing trail between themselves and the yellow beast. Long, scaly tendrils that looked like something akin to dreadlocks covered its head and part of its back. Small spikes went down its spine to the end of its tail and low thuds could be heard as it plodded through the small patch of forest. The way it looked and moved reminded the Handler a little bit of a Wildspire Gekko.

Kaguya felt Azusa’s hand tighten around her shoulder, causing the stressed Handler to jump. “Relax. But also, don’t forget to try and not let it eat. It’ll get bigger and hit harder. Now…” She shoved the bewildered woman out of the bushes, causing her to stumble forwards, and brought her hand up to where her mouth would be beneath the mask. “Go get ‘em!”

The Handler’s back was stiff as a board while she watched the lumbering lizard plop itself down into a patch of sunlight that broke through the trees. Smaller Jagras wandered around it, curiously sniffing at the air and snapping indiscriminately at each other. One soon stopped its movements and turned its head around as if it were searching for something. It froze again before its mouth opened with a hiss and ran towards Kaguya with the rest of its pack following suit. Thankfully, the Great Jagras didn’t seem to be paying them any mind.

She wanted to scream at that moment. She was petrified, tense, and inexperienced. Yet she found herself steadying herself against the rushing onslaught of Jagras. She brought her shield up to protect her torso and prepare for the swarm.

They were on her in a flash; teeth were snapping at her ankles and legs and she could hear claws scratching furiously at her shield in an attempt to get at her face. Small pinpricks of their teeth sinking into her legs could barely be felt past the leather armor she had donned for her first hunt. She held fast until one Jagras tackled hard into her shield and she was sent back onto her rear.

Kaguya hurriedly backed up on the ground to gain a bit of distance between her and the pack. She rushed to her feet then looked in the direction of Azusa, panic slowly settling in. She was beginning to feel less and less confident since she wasn’t able to bring herself to swing her sword. Her Hunter waved at her and made motions of swinging her arm. Her eyes were wide above her mask as if she was trying to yell at her without actually doing so. Frustration was clear on her mostly concealed face either way.

Steeling herself, she gripped her sword with renewed determination. Her heart was still pounding with terror when she finally took a swing at a nearby Jagras. She felt the blade dig hard into its side and blood coated the blade and dirt of the forest. It cried out in pain and the sound made her flinch. It was the first time she actually meant to harm, and even kill, another living creature. It felt surreal, terrifying, and caused her hands to shake. Bile could be felt rising up in the back of her throat and she swallowed down the want to vomit.

She knew this was what she wanted, but all the planning and training in the New World couldn’t have prepared her for the moment she took a life.

A shaking breath made her body shudder until she finally realized it was either the Jagras or herself at this point. Her movements were far from graceful as she waved about the sword as best as she could with how little experience she had in the actual field. However, she was still landing her hits, albeit rather imprecise.

Kaguya’s chest frantically rose and fell in a rapid rhythm in an attempt to catch her breath. She already felt in over her head and she still had the main threat before her. The Great Jagras was still lazing in the afternoon sun, eyes half closed, but still awake. She licked at her dry lips as she thought of the best way to approach it. _‘Maybe I can take a rock and distract it so I can get some hits to its tail. Yeah, that should work…’_

She crouched down low to the earth so her footsteps would be more muffled. Rocks were easy enough to find as she scooped one up and attached it to her new slinger. She brought her hand up to aim the stone, used her free hand to steady herself at the wrist, took aim, then fired. The rock sailed through the air, however, her aim wasn’t exactly correct as it wacked right into the Great Jagras’s left eye. It let out an annoyed growl and slowly got to its feet.

It turned menacingly to the Handler and roared at the newly perceived threat. Her face went pale and her primal instincts told her to run, but she was frozen on the spot. Her heart got caught in her throat when it began to charge towards her at full speed. Her eyes widened with sudden realization and she quickly pulled up her shield as soon as the large monster threw its head against her frame.

Kaguya skid across the forest on her back and she was glad that the leather armor was protecting her skin. She rolled to get back to her feet then steadied herself despite the shaking in her limbs. She squared her shoulders to face the reptile.

Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she charged at the Great Jagras. It let out a second roar in response before turning to slap her away once again with the side of its tail. The wind in her lungs was knocked out, causing her to let out a violent cough that made her think of when she intervened during the Rathalos fight not too long ago, and she gasped for air. Thankfully, this time she managed to take no injuries other than her aching lungs.

However, as soon as the ache began to lighten up, the room spun and she had to hold her head to steady herself. Her nausea returned, though not from the sight of blood, and she was barely able to focus on the large yellow blob that eventually morphed back into the monster. It let out a hissing roar at her one more time before waddling off towards the more open area near the campsite.

“Hurry Kaguya! After it!” Azusa’s voice pierced through the dizziness and easily cleared her mind the rest of the way. She smacked her hands against her cheeks to steady herself, sheathed her sword, then took off past her Hunter in pursuit of the creature. She was able to hear the sound of armor clattering together behind her and paws hitting packed earth when Azusa followed suit.

Kaguya skid to a halt once she reached the entrance to the open field from shock. The Great Jagras was only a few feet in front of her, yet she saw its jaw unhinged like a snake then bite into the backside of an Aptonoth. It cried out and thrashed in its grip, struggling to free itself until it slid down the monster’s gullet. The fanged wyvern reared up onto its hindlegs and its stomach swelled to almost double its size.

“Shit…” The Handler hissed, gritting her teeth and drawing her sword. “This is bad.”

She took a slow, deep breath then went after the monster yet again. Slowly, the now swollen lizard turned to face her. Its forelegs lifted up, stretching out its ballooned belly, before flopping down onto the ground. This time she was ready for the attack as she rolled to the side. Dust was kicked up around its stomach from the impact and she took a quick swing at its arm.

A line of crimson opened up across the golden scales. Blood soaked her blade and dropped to the grass below. It cried out in response and thrashed backwards. Kaguya grinned wide at her slight triumph until it got wiped away by its body rolling over onto her. She felt her equipment dig into her own body and it clearly felt like she was going to have bruises all over. A pained groan came out from her mouth. She rubbed her face to gather her bearings and sat upright then was on her feet in a flash, ready for another attack from the beast.

Again, it was on its back legs, but this time she could hear a strange gurgling coming from the creature’s throat. She frantically searched her memory for the tips and advice Azusa pounded into her head from their training until her eyes went wide with sudden realization. Kaguya hastily pulled up her shield to protect her face right when the Jagras opened its mouth to vomit up pieces of bone and half digested raw meat.

The stench that surrounded her was vile and stunk of stomach acid. Thick, clear bile stuck to her shield while chunks of flesh and splintered bone were scattered around the field. She almost wanted to puke herself.

Holding her breath, she shook off her shield, slid towards the reptile, then plunged her sword hard into its abdomen. Its eyes widened in shock before it violently retched and coughed up the rest of the meat that used to be the poor Aptonoth. More bile dripped from its open mouth while its stomach emptied fully and deflated back to normal size. Kaguya leaned hard against the pommel of her sword to dig it deep into its flesh. She ripped it free, a bit of gore splattering across her determined face, then plunged it in a second time.

The Great Jagras roared with its limbs flailing in the air. It took a few stumbling steps back and its shoulders were rising and falling with ragged breaths. She could tell it wasn’t going to last much longer. Just a bit more and she’d have it.

The Handler’s mouth went dry when she took a bold step forward. Her shield was raised high above her head when she slammed it down into its skull. Its eyes gave a bleary blink as it recoiled and it fell onto its side after she bashed the iron disc against the Jagras’s nose.

“Now!” Azusa, who was noiseless until now, bellowed out loud and clear across the open clearing.

With a newfound, surprising confidence, she took her blade in both of her hands and stabbed down hard into the monster’s cranium. It let out a chilling howl in response that made Kaguya shiver. Legs flailed wildly against the rocks and mud, kicking up clumps of grass in the process. Wail after wail pounded at her eardrums, but it soon became quieter and less frantic until it eventually went dead silent. Its appendages twitched every now and again, and she stared into its wide, scared eyes until the light went out and glassed over. She stared at those now soulless eyes for what felt like an eternity.

Kaguya finally pulled her weapon free from its skull with a visceral crunch that caused her stomach to flip and jerk. Her chest and shoulders were heaving and her hands shook uncontrollably. Glistening blood coated her fingers, leather gloves, and sword. She released her grip on the weapon with a sudden choked sound and it landed at her feet with a dull thump. _‘Oh my God, I-I killed it… Oh my God. Oh my God!’_

Ignoring the blood, she pressed a palm against her mouth and bolted for the nearest underbrush. As soon as she was there, her stomach emptied. Acid and bile stung her throat while her body twitched with all the nerves being released at once. Her adrenaline quickly took a nosedive and caused her body to feel beyond exhausted. Another gag made her stomach lurch and it wasn’t until it was completely empty did she notice the calming hands holding back her brown locks and rubbing her back between her shoulder blades.

“It’s okay. It’s all over now. You did great.” Azusa’s voice was like a soothing medicine to a throbbing wound. She had removed her mask and it dangled loosely around her neck. Kaguya’s ragged breathing eased into a more steady rhythm until she collapsed to her knees onto the forest floor. The Hunter sat down behind her and gingerly cupped her jaw in her fingers to guide her head down to her lap. “Lie down. You’ll feel better after a moment.”

Kaguya closed her eyes in an attempt to calm down, but all she could see behind her eyelids was the sheer terror in the monster’s eyes as it slowly died by her hands. The thought made her empty stomach squeeze painfully and another dry retch made her jerk upright. Again, Azusa calmly pulled her back down. Her fingertips lovingly brushed against her forehead and swiped away her hair that stuck to it from sweat.

“I know it’s hard to take a life and I understand it’s a shock.” The Hunter was speaking so low that it was practically a whisper, but it was just as calming to the Handler as before. She kept playing with her hair in an attempt to bring her back down to earth from her panic. “But we Hunters exist to keep a balance. That Great Jagras was becoming a danger to our home. It was becoming far too aggressive and devouring Aptonoth by the dozens. It would have eventually tried to attack Astera if it wasn’t taken care of.”

Azusa took Kaguya’s face into her hands and rubbed her cheeks with the pads of her thumbs. She leaned over her so she could see her warm gaze with a gentle smile on her lips. Her silver hair framed her face and tickled against Kaguya’s cheeks. “You helped keep a lot of people safe.”

Tears began to well up at the edges of the Handler’s eyes. One hiccup turned to two before they spilled over from relief. Large droplets rolled down her cheeks and pooled against the Hunter’s fingers. She suddenly twisted in her hold to throw her arms around her shoulders and cling to her. Everything came to a halt when she felt her strong arms wrap around her waist. One of her hands slid up her spine to cradle the back of her head and brace her against their shoulder. Soft and hushed reassuring words were muttered into her ear over and over again until the sobs eased back into hiccups.

Kaguya finally released her tight hold on her to lean back and wipe at her tear and blood stained face with the heels of her hands. Sniffles still came from her as Azusa stood up with a grunt. She offered an outstretched hand to the poor mess of a Handler and a reassuring, loving smile spread across her lips. “Come. I’ll return later to carve the monster for you. For now, let’s get you cleaned up, my poor girl.”

**Author's Note:**

> Wheezes  
Man, writing out fights is hard, but I did my dang best.


End file.
